


What Goes Up...

by DarkShade87



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-24 14:17:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6156309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShade87/pseuds/DarkShade87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Semi-AU fanfic. Max's powers never manifested, and as such she was unable to save Kate from walking off the roof. This story covers the days after Kate's death from the eyes of Chloe, Max and Victoria. </p>
<p>I may be adding a little backstory for Max at a later date. I know what I want to do, but not quite how to go about doing it.</p>
<p>A huge thank you to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_You_Can_Prove/profile">Nothing_You_Can_Prove</a> and <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/oddbot/profile">oddbot</a> for helping me out with moral support for this story. Without their help, I may not have made it past the idea stage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_Victoria  
October 8, 2013 7:30 pm_ **

   Victoria Chase sat at her desk as sunset came, her eyes blind to the reddish-pink light flooding through her windows and onto the walls and floor. She had been sitting there for about an hour now, the only movement having been the rise and fall of her shoulders as sobs wracked her body.

   Her phone buzzed repeatedly as texts came in from Courtney, Taylor, and Nathan, asking her if she was alright. _As if._  How could she possibly be alright, after seeing what half the school had seen that afternoon, and knowing that she was at least partially responsible for the death of another student by filming her during that party?

   She had never really paid any attention to Kate Marsh, deciding early on that the shy, mousy bible thumper was of no threat to her power here at Blackwell, but she had no idea of what was going on night after night in the mind of her neighbor, and having to walk past the small shrine outside Kate's door tore at her heart for several days after she had taken her life.

   She wasn't sure who to talk to, who she could unload her guilt and grief onto. Courtney and Taylor came to mind, then were just as quickly dismissed, and Nathan was in one of his moods, so that ruled him out.

**_October 9, 2013 9:15 PM_ **

   Sitting at her laptop late at night, Victoria heard a soft knock on her door, just loud enough to be heard over the bass-heavy music pumping into her mind to block herself from the emotions that refused to let her go. She pulled the earbuds out, listening to the door before the knock was repeated, then turned her head a bit, looking at the door from the corner of her eye.

   "Go away", she said, loud enough for her visitor to hear, but not loud enough to disturb Brooke next door, not that she cared. The knocking came again, just as quietly. Victoria groaned and shoved her chair back from the desk, angry at the idiot knocking at her door, but also grateful for the momentary reprieve.  
  
   She stalked to the door, wrapping her manicured fingers around the knob and twisting it, pulling the door open quickly to reveal Maxine Caulfield, her left hand crossing her chest and gripping the upper part of her right arm, her head pointing down at the floor.

   "What do you want, hipster?" Victoria asked, glaring at the other girl, tapping her fingernails against the door frame as she waited, barely catching Lamefield mumble something about Kate. Victoria looked up suddenly, her eyes focusing on the twee hipster. "Either speak up or go away, _Maxine_ ", Victoria said, looking over the shorter girl slowly while she could, a bit surprised that she had come.

   "I was wondering if you wanted to talk about Kate", Max said, her voice just above a whisper, but much more clear this time. Victoria poked her head out into the hallway, looking down the length of it before gripping Max's wrist and pulling her into the room, shutting and locking the door once she was inside.

   Victoria spun on her heel and stalked over to her bed, dropping down onto it gracefully, wrapping her arms across her chest in what could be considered a defensive posture, then glared over at Max, still standing where she had been pulled to, her eyes slowly rising to meet her own. Max opened and closed her mouth a few times, apparently gathering her thoughts.

   The shorter girl looked right at Victoria, dark blue eyes locking onto her own light brown irises, pinning her to the bed as she spoke, anger clear in her voice. "Why did you have to post that video of Kate online?", she asked, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

   Victoria blinked, unable to move, much less open her mouth as Max continued her rant. "She didn't do _anything_ to you! She didn't deserve what you did to her.. _nobody_ does!" Max's voice went higher with each utterance, to the point Victoria started to worry the other girl would draw the attention of others on the floor.

   She started to open her mouth, then closed it again, words failing her as Max stood there, her chest and shoulders shaking, tears forming at the corners of her eyes before running down her freckled face. "I _loved_ Kate, so much, and now because of you, she's _gone_ forever!"

  Max suddenly lunged forward, furious at Victoria's silence, and slappped the blonde hard across her face, the sound even louder than the shouting. Victoria raised a hand to her face, gently touching her reddening cheek, shocked beyond words at what had just happened.

   Max stood there for a few seconds, then spun back towards the entrance to the room, twisting the lock roughly and pulling the door open, glaring daggers at Victoria for a moment before stepping out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

   Victoria dropped her head into her hands and began to cry again, the sobs shaking her whole body once more as she wallowed in the guilt and grief which surged back, pulling her under.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe sneaks into the girls' dorm just before lights out to meet up with Victoria, and receives a bit of a shock. She explains Max's actions while consoling and comforting her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Aftermath. This chapter blows the story far beyond canon, but rather than waste time explaining how, I'll let the lovely Ms. Price fill all of you in. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please, please, PLEASE leave feedback, whether it's positive or negative. Also, this rendition of Max was my inspiration for her personality in this fic in a big way. I do not own this image, but if anyone knows the artist offhand, please leave a link in the comments so I can thank them for their work and give credit where it's due.

  
  


  
**_Chloe  
October 9, 2013 9:30 PM_**  


Chloe Price walked into the girls' dorm, pulling up her long strawberry-blonde hair behind her and wringing the water out of it gently. The rain outside was coming down awfully heavily, and she was so glad to be out of it. Once she'd secured her hair in a messy ponytail, she climbed the stairs, heading for the second floor. She walked down towards the end of the hallway, stopping for a second outside Max's room, her hand hovering just against the door, then turned and walked the few steps to Victoria's room, poking her head in. "Tori...are you still awake?" she whispered softly, not wanting to disturb the blonde beauty inside in the event she was sleeping.

Chloe's eyes widened noticeably as she saw Victoria sitting at her desk, hunched over. She pushed the door open enough to enter the room, closing it gently behind her as she walked over to the desk, wrapping her arms loosely around her girlfriend. Then she saw the bright red handprint on the right side of Victoria's face, and growled softly, letting go of Tori only long enough to turn her and the chair around.

"Tori, sweetheart, who did this to you?", she asked, brushing her fingers very gently over the mark, already seeing the edges start to bruise.

"M-Max did it", Victoria sobbed out, wrapping her arms around Chloe and burying her head against her neck. "Sh-she came here raving about how it was my fault that Kate died, and then she just slapped me as hard as she could."

Chloe closed her eyes and sighed heavily, slowly lifting Victoria up out of the chair and carrying her over to the bed, pulling back the covers and tucking her in lovingly. "I should have known something like this was bound to happen again', she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.

Victoria turned on her side, propping her head up on one arm, her bloodshot eyes locked on Chloe's dark blue pupils. "Wait..again? You mean this has happened before?"

Chloe sighed and nodded, sitting down on the bed next to Victoria. "When Max was 13, her parents were killed by a drunk driver on the way home from shopping. It...it broke her, big time. My parents took her in, since she was like another daughter to them, and a sister to me. She went into a very deep depression, for almost 6 months. She was going to a grief therapist for a while, but after the first month, she refused to go. That's when the anger started, and she directed it at just about everyone...her parents, the other driver, even God. It got so bad that she eventually refused to leave her room."

Victoria covered her mouth with her other hand, but not before a loud gasp escaped from between her lips. "My god...I-I had no idea."

Chloe shook her head sadly. "It was hell to watch as she tried to come to terms with her loss, for all of us. And then...then she started to change. The sweet, innocent girl she used to be vanished almost overnight, and in her place was this dark, brooding girl. She dyed her hair black for the funeral, to match her clothes, and chewed out both Mom and Dad when they tried talking her into going back to her normal color."

Victoria sat up slowly, wrapping her arms around Chloe again, kissing her neck gently. "She can't have been like this all the time since she lost them, though, right?"

Chloe turned to look at Tori, blinking the tears out of her eyes. "No..her mood improved when she found out she had been accepted here. It was almost like having our Max back, not the dark person she'd become. And when she got back home after the first day and meeting Kate - you'd never have known she went through what she did. We were so happy for her, and glad she found someone who could possibly heal the wounds she carried with her."

"And then I had to go and ruin things for both of them", Victoria said with a sigh. Chloe shook her head softly, her thick ponytail brushing against Victoria's head. "What happened to Kate isn't your fault, Vicky. She must have had problems of her own long before the whole video incident, and nobody ever noticed them or thought to ask her."

Victoria dropped back down onto the bed, pulling Chloe with her. "I'd ask if we should go check on her, but after tonight, I doubt she wants to see me, let alone let me in her room." Chloe sighed and nodded, wrapping her arms around Victoria, spooning her from behind. "We're better off leaving her be tonight, but I have a free period tomorrow, so I'll try to check on her."

Tori nodded and squeezed Chloe's hand gently as her eyes drifted closed, her breathing slowly evening out as she fell asleep. Chloe laid awake a while longer, praying that her best friend wasn't doing anything reckless, before closing her eyes and joining Victoria as sleep claimed her.

**_Max  
October 9, 2013 9:45 PM_**  


Max waited until both Chloe and Victoria had stopped talking before walking quietly back into her room, eyeing the bottle of prescription sleeping medication she had stolen from Nathan Prescott's room before opening it, dropping one capsule into her hand, then closing the bottle back up and stashing it under her bed. She poured herself a glass of water from Lisa's bottle and downed the pill, then dropped onto her bed, letting the medication drag her into a dreamless oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we've seen Victoria's POV and Chloe's, which means Chapter 3 will be dedicated entirely to Ms. Caulfield. I'm looking forward to writing her AU self (hopefully) as much as all of you are looking forward to reading it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe decides to check up on Max, but her visit doesn't go nearly as well as she'd hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the end of the world! I had thought about drawing this story out into several chapters, but I think I'm going to draw the line here. My muse is a bit elusive, and she only gave me so much to work with, so I'm going to wrap this up next chapter. Enjoy!

  
**Max**  
**October 10, 2013 10:45 AM**  


Max woke up with a start, looking around groggily, then heard the sound that had woken her as it came again, a soft knocking at the door to her dorm.

"Max, can I come in?" Chloe said from the other side, tapping her foot on the carpet as she stood there.

"Sure, Chloe, just give me a minute to get dressed." Max mumbled out, swinging her feet out of bed and onto the cool floor. She sat there for a bit, then pushed off the bed, stumbling over to the dresser, peeling herself out of her pajamas as she went, grabbing the first things her hands touched and pulling them on before heading to the door, pulling it open. "This is a surprise", Max said, looking into Chloe's eyes. "I'd have expected you to be in the Queen Bitch's room, waiting for her to get back from class."

Chloe scowled at Max, walking past her and into the room, dropping down gently onto the bed. "That's not fair, Max, not at all. And it's not like I didn't try spending time with you, too, but you've been pushing everybody away since Kate died. I'm supposed to be your best friend, but I've barely seen you this past week."

Max sighed, closing the door and resting her head against the cool wood, closing her eyes. "You know it's nothing personal, Che...I just need to be alone right now. It's bad enough I went through this once already, but having to do it again..." She trailed off as she walked over to the bed, kicking the pill bottle out of sight before sitting next to Chloe.

Chloe looked at Max, putting an arm around her and pulling her against herself. "What was that you kicked under the bed, Max? Trying to hide stuff from your captain?"

Max shook her head, leaning away from Chloe as she mumbled. "It's nothing, just some garbage I didn't feel like throwing away yesterday."

Chloe narrowed her eyes and moved down to the floor, reaching around under the bed until her fingers made contact with the item. She grabbed it and pulled her arm back, examining her find in the light before turning on Max,  venom in her voice. "What the hell are these doing under here, Max? Why the hell is Nathan Prescott giving you prescription sleeping pills?"

Max stood up suddenly, her hands balled into fists at her sides, glaring at Chloe. "First off, I was using them to help me sleep, which is clearly what they're for, and second, he didn't give them to me. I had Warren help me break into his room so I could steal them."

Chloe shook her head in disgust, walking to the trash can by Max's desk and dumping the half-empty bottle into it, one pill at a time, before turning around to face Max, hands crossed on her chest. "Max, this shit can be dangerous! What the hell were you thinking taking medication that wasn't meant for you?"

Max grabbed her wristbands, glaring daggers at Chloe. "I was thinking that I would get a night of actual fucking sleep! I haven't had a good night's sleep since Kate died, Chloe. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Chloe started to speak, but Max cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't even answer that, Chloe, because you've never lost anyone close to you. I've lost not only my parents, but my first and only girlfriend. This shit-pit has taken everyone I've ever loved... I'd like to drop a bomb on Arcadia Bay and turn it to fucking glass, while I stand at ground zero."

Chloe stalked over to the door, tears flowing freely from her eyes, then turned and leveled her gaze at Max. "I came here to try to help you, Max, and maybe invite you to the party tonight as my plus one, but obviously I'd be wasting my time, so I'm going to go. Enjoy being miserable", she said, walking out and slamming the door behind her.

Max dropped to her knees, covering her face with her hands as she started to sob.

_What the hell have I done? Chloe was just trying to help, and all I did was throw it back in her face. I wouldn't be surprised if she never talks to me again after this._

  
**Max**  
**October 10, 2013 7:45 PM**  


Max wandered into the main area of the pool, actively avoiding everyone around her. Her goal here was clear; to snag a bottle of alcohol to take back to the dorms with her. She wasn't going to be picky, but the stronger the booze, the better.

She accidentally bumped into Warren on her way to the impromptu bar area, and had to waste valuable time avoiding his drunken come-ons, to the point where she grabbed his crotch without warning and squeezed, hard. "I don't have time to deal with this shit, Warren, and you know for a fact I don't date guys", she said before letting him go and walking away, ignoring the crowd that gathered around him as he dropped to his knees, curling up into himself.

She pushed her way gently to the bar, waving the bartender down and ordering herself a cup of beer. He came back a minute later with a foaming red solo cup, which he handed to her. She thanked him with a warm smile before downing half of the cup in one go, then reached into her pocket, grabbing out the handful of pills she had saved from the trash after Chloe left and downing them along with the rest of the beer.

She made her way over to one of the benches that had been set up along the wall, leaning her head back as she closed her eyes, drifting off into another drug-induced sleep, knowing full well this would be her last.

  
**Chloe**  
**October 10, 2013 7:55 PM**  


Chloe walked into the party with Victoria, her hand around her girlfriend's waist, and was surprised to see the pool area almost devoid of activity. She looked around, noticing everyone gathered around a bench, and let go of Victoria to push her way through the crowd, gasping when she saw Max slumped over, spittle running from her mouth.

 "What the hell happened here?", she asked, looking at the people closest to her. After they all shrugged, or said they weren't sure, she shoved her cell phone at someone. "Call 911, tell them they need to get here right away." She pulled Max upright, trying to shake her awake. "Come on, Max..don't do this...don't you dare die on me, you hear me?" After several minutes, she realized Max was gone and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably as Victoria held her from behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max meets up with Kate again, but doesn't get the warm welcome she would have expected from her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be part of chapter 3, but as I was writing it, it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the chapter, so I broke it off into its own piece of the story.

 

**Max**

Max woke with a start, realizing someone was splashing water onto her face. She sat up slowly and looked around quickly, then down at herself, realizing her old, dark clothes were gone, replaced with a pair of blue jeans and a pink Jane Doe shirt under a grey hoodie. Even her hair had changed, going back to its natural dark brown.

She looked up again, gasping as she saw Kate, an angry expression marring her beautiful face. "Kate?! Wh-what are you doing here?"

Kate sighed, crossing her arms as she stood up slowly. "I could ask you the same thing, Max. No offense, but what the hell were you thinking, throwing your life away like that?!"

Max stared at her, at a loss for words. "Throwing my...you mean I'm dead?"

Kate nodded, her face still set in the angry frown. "I knew you would miss me, Max, but this is ridiculous. You had your whole life ahead of you, and you just wasted it not even a week after I died."

Max bit her lip, wanting to stand up and hug Kate, but at the same time, knowing Kate wouldn't allow it in her current mood. "I did it because I was tired, Kate...tired of living, of not having anyone to love, or who loves me."

"You had people who loved you, Max..you were just too wrapped up in your grief to notice, and in Chloe's case, you just flat out didn't care. She loved you like the sister she never had, and then some. Now she has to deal with losing you because of your selfishness."

Max dropped down, stunned, looking up at Kate. "Y-you mean Chloe had a crush on me, Kate?" Kate nodded, her face relaxing slightly. "She has for years now, but she never could find a way to bring it up. Now she'll never be able to. Did you even think about what killing yourself would do to the people around you, Max, or did you only care about yourself?"

Max opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, biting her lip as Kate's words ran through her head.

_Chloe has had a secret crush on me for years? How could I have missed something like that? I'm so fucking dense. I wish I could go back and apologize to her somehow, and to everyone else._

The world around her started to fade, and she looked over at Kate, who had turned away from her. "Kate, wh-what's going on? Why is everything fading in and out like this?"

Kate turned her head a bit and looked at Max. "My guess is the paramedics came and are trying to revive you, which is probably for the best. After this little stunt, I'd rather not be around you, Max."

Max closed her eyes and started to cry, her body shaking softly as the world around her faded away.

**Chloe**  
**October 12, 2013 9:45 PM**

Chloe sat next to Max, her face wet with tears as she held her best friend's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Please, Max, please wake up. Don't do this to me..I can't stand losing you."

She watched as Max's eyes slowly opened, widening even more when she saw Chloe next to her. Chloe started to sob all over again, but these were tears of happiness and joy for her friend.

"Chloe? Wh-where am I?" Max croaked out, her voice rough underneath the oxygen mask covering half of her face.

"You're in the hospital, hipster", Chloe sobbed out, pushing the call button for the nurse as she leaned over, pulling the mask down and off of Max's face.

The doctor and nurse came in a minute later, smiles on their faces as they noticed Max's condition. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ms. Caulfield", the doctor said, while the nurse moved around, checking her vitals. "We were worried you weren't going to wake up."

"I..was sure I wasn't going to", Max said, looking at Chloe as her head fell, reaching over to cup her cheek weakly. Chloe brought her hand up, holding Max's against her face.

The doctor nodded, a grim look on his face. "The paramedics were able to revive you, and once they got you here, we were able to stabilize you, despite your attempt on your life. I'm afraid we can't release you for a while yet, but Ms. Price here has agreed to keep you company while you recover, if you're willing to have her."

Max nodded, pulling Chloe's hand to herself and kissing it gently, much to Chloe's surprise, as the blush on her cheeks at the act was hard to miss. The doctor nodded, made a few notes on Max's chart, then bid the girls good night before leaving with the nurse.

"You had me so scared, Max...I thought you were gone forever, and I...I lost it when I found you at the party" Chloe sobbed out, squeezing Max's hand again.

Max sighed softly, looking into Chloe's eyes. "I, uh....I know how you feel about me, Che." Chloe looked at Max, confused, but she pressed on. "I had a chat with Kate, and she basically slapped my wrist and chewed me out for being selfish like that...but she also told me that you've been crushing on me for a long time now. I..I just want you to know you're not the only one", she whispered softly.

Chloe's head snapped up, her eyes looking into Max's, trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not. "You're not messing with my heart here, are you, Max? I don't think I could take that with everything that's happened the last few days."

Max shook her head, motioning for Chloe to come closer, then slid her hand into Chloe's hair, pulling her closer still, pressing her lips to Chloe's in a warm kiss.  Chloe sighed as she slid her fingers into Max's hair as well, returning the kiss passionately, pulling away after a few seconds.

"Why didn't you ever say anything, Max? If I had known you felt this way about me..." Chloe watched Max hang her head, her eyes closing. "I didn't know what I was feeling, Chloe, until I got jealous when you started dating Victoria. By the time I realized I loved you, it was already too late."

Chloe shook her head, chuckling softly before pressing a kiss to Max's forehead. "You're such a dork, Max...I went out with Victoria because I didn't see myself having a chance with you. But now..."

Max looked at Chloe, watching as she wrestled with her thoughts. "I know Victoria feels strongly for me, but...I never really felt the same. I was carrying your torch this whole time. I..I'm going to have to talk to her, let her know things aren't going to work out."

Max sighed, putting a hand over her eyes. "I don't want to get between you and Tori, Chloe...that wouldn't be fair to her."

"Sticking around when I know you and I are in love isn't fair either, Max." Chloe responded, kissing her surrogate sister's forehead. "Now get some sleep..we'll deal with the rest of this stuff tomorrow."

Max nodded and closed her eyes, falling asleep with a smile on her face. For once, she slept peacefully, without the ghosts of her past plaguing her.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are at the end of our little tale. This blew way out of proportion from the one-shot I'd originally pictured, but I'm glad it did, and I hope you all feel the same way.


End file.
